The number of deviations from prescribed procurement procedures in South African national and provincial government increased dramatically in 2022/23 compared to reported figures since 2016. Deviations are not necessarily indicative of corruption as it is legal to deviate when ‘it is impractical to invite competitive bids’, but they tend to raise questions about the strength of procurement planning and governance. Four of the ten largest deviations in 2022/2023 involved a state entity as a supplier (Telkom, Broadband Infraco and Sentech), with the top 10 deviations totaling almost R25 billion. Contract expansions are also monitored since they could create opportunity for tender abuses. Contract expansions totaled 2022/2023 exceeded R157-billion (with almost 60 expansions not reporting expansion values), with an average percentage of 97% (a near doubling of original contract value). Eskom recorded six of the top ten contract expansions for that year (notably Medupi, Kendal and Kusile contract expansions).
